FOURTH WEEK.—LORD’S DAY. — Evening

O THOU, who art the King of kings and the Lord of lords; Thou art good, though men are evil. Thou hast given thine only begotten Son to die for our sins, and thy Holy Spirit to quicken us to newness of life. We thank thee if we have been made partakers of this grace. Help us to love Thee with all the love of our hearts; and to serve Thee with all the service of our lives. We thank Thee for the kingdom of Christ upon earth; that this sick and sorrowful world is thus healed and blessed by Him; and that all nations are to be blessed in Him and to call Him blessed.

We thank Thee for the righteousness of his rule, and for the beauty of his holiness. May we imitate his perfect example; be like Him in all piety towards God, and in all virtue towards men: thus may we be holy members of his kingdom, and help its coming upon earth.

We thank Thee that Thou hast made thy Son our Saviour head over all things to his Church. We bless Thee that of his fulness we may all receive, and grace for grace. God of all grace, may the Church live as the true Bride of thy beloved Son, adorned with the garments of salvation and the beauty of holiness, manifesting to the world that loving yet reverent attachment which is a meet response to his surpassing love. Do Thou graciously perfect it, and remove from its members every inconsistency. Help us to seek thy glory. Take out of our hearts all worldly-mindedness, and all spiritual selfishness. Bless all the members of this family. Let our children be a seed to serve Thee; make them simple concerning evil, and wise to that which is good. May they be children of the Father’s house, and the Church be their home from their earliest years. In spiritual goodness and beauty may they grow up in it saints from their childhood; and when our hands shall fail, may they bear the ark of the Lord, and uplift the standard of the cross more nobly and zealously than we have done.

Holy Father, we thank Thee for the manifold mercies of this thy day; for thy protection from its evils, and for thy gifts of its goodness; for the ordinances of thy house, and the preaching of thy Word. Forgive our poor returns; our forgetfulness, ingratitude, and sin.

Mercifully protect us during the night, and give us sleep that may refresh us and strengthen us to serve Thee on the morrow.

Bless all our relatives and friends, and have mercy upon all men, for the sake of Him whose name we bear, and we will render to Thee, the Father of an infinite Majesty, and to thine honourable, true, and only Son, and to the Holy Ghost the Comforter, everlasting praises. Amen.